ANALYSIS-Warships and weather hamper Somali pirates

NAIROBI Jan 19 (Reuters) - The floating corpses with their
bedraggled bounties of dollar bundles were a chilling symbol to
the pirates and a grim victory of sorts for shippers.

The five drowned hijackers washed up off central Somalia
this month, pockets stuffed with cash, after capsizing when they
took their share of a $3 million ransom for a Saudi tanker.

Despite such perils, Somali pirates who enjoyed an
unprecedentedly prosperous 2008 are eager to repeat their
success this year, but an array of warships from 14 nations is
starting to make that more difficult.

"It is still too early to talk of a definite trend, but
there has been a reduction in the frequency of hijackings and
that is a good sign. We attribute it largely to the naval
activity," International Maritime Bureau director Pottengal
Mukundan told Reuters.

"The attacks are still happening, however, so we need the
naval forces to commit for a long time."

Pirates have hijacked only two ships this year, a fall in
frequency from the second half of 2008 when piracy soared.

A record 42 boats were seized off Somalia throughout last
year, with a total 815 crew members taken hostage, according to
figures from the IMB, a shipping watchdog.

After a string of negotiated releases in recent days, 11
ships are still held with 207 hostages, the IMB says. Most boats
are at a pirate's haven and coastal village called Eyl.
Continued...